Strider Blog » early childhood development

Final 2 Days To Register For Laguna Seca!

joelhagan — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:11:28 +0000

Strider World Cup – Laguna Seca – July 24th

Pre-Registration DEADLINE:

Friday July 22nd at 8AM MST!!

Hurry!! First 50 Pre-Registrants Receive

2 FREE Sunday General Admission

MotoGP Tickets!! ($100 Value)

Want to learn how to ride? Watch your little brother!

joelhagan — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:50:50 +0000

Most of the time we hear from parents who buy a Strider so that their little ones can be more like their bigger siblings! This review from Jese had the surprising bonus of inspiring the 9 year old brother to finally be “cruising down the road after years of stress and crying”!

“First off I was hesitant before buying this bike. Mostly because of the price. I feel $99 is too much for a toddler’s bike. I hemmed and hawed weighing my options. My wild 2 year old boy was turning the big 3 so I bit the bullet and bought it. He loves his bike, I mean LOVES it! Its small enough to easily toss in the trunk of our car and bring to his brothers little league games, family visits, anywhere. He rides it every day. Our driveway is a gradual hill, he likes to start at the top and cruise down. Imagine my surprise after only owning it 2 weeks he was picking his feet off the ground and balancing. I showed everyone who happened to walk by that day, yes I was a crazy mother but very proud. Is it worth $99, if I take how much he uses it, how much it has taught him and just his love for the bike, I’d say absolutely! Its fantastic.

On a side note, our 9 year old son had a lot of anxiety riding a bike and couldn’t figure out the balancing part. The strider bike gave me the idea to take the pedals off of his bike. I said watch how your little brother does it and no joke in a half an hour we had the pedals back on our 9 year old’s bike and he was cruising down the road after years of stress and crying. I’m sure the balance gave him the confidence to get on and go. Thanks Strider.”

Share your Strider success stories, photos, video and interact with other Strider enthusiasts at our newest centralized social media outlet www.StriderLife.com! Join the Strider conversation on our Facebook wall!

Strider in South Africa!

joelhagan — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 04:57:23 +0000

Striders are being propelled by little legs all over the world! It is always fun to get notes from Strider dealers in parts of the world far away from Striderville. Some dealers have more hurdles to jump over than others…here’s a great story of last minute success in South Africa!

“It was a heroic effort but we pulled it off in the last hour despite so many hurdles. After discovering Friday (the 24th) afternoon that our lost 3 boxes containing two Striders and accessories were located and waiting for us at the post office, we rushed to book one of the last small booths for the large annual Harare fair on Sunday. Friday night was spent throwing together a video but the main workday was Saturday: off to the fabric shop in the morning to get anything colorful to decorate the booth with.

Came back home ONLY to find out the electricity was switched off – a practice called “load shedding” by our government in efforts to save electricity. No power to work on rest of video or flyers, so got mom-in-law and my two girls together to help paint a plain white tablecloth into a ‘checker-flag’ style. The power FINALLY came back at 8PM!! Scrambled to finish the video and whipped together a flyer design and printed 500. Managed to print some Strider circle logos to pin around the fabric when…we ran out of printer ink at midnight. No time to design posters nor ink to print them, so we cut the boxes, edged them with black electrician’s tape and...instant posters!

Up at 6am Sunday to load the truck and get to fair to set up before gates opened to public at 9am. Had more challenges with the electricity: there was none supplied by the fair organizers so we got a friend to bring an invertor and car battery and Dave MacGyver’d some power up to the computer to play on 3 screens. Huge victory when it worked! This video was the crowd generator as soon as the music started pumping. Tons of people crowding around to view the Strider in action…our 2 girls were stars, handing out flyers to all the families walking by and roping them in to see the Strider up close.”

Parents Are Talking!

joelhagan — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:37:49 +0000

We announced www.StriderLife.com about a month ago and have been having a great time with it ever since. There is a lot of unique media being posted as well as interesting conversations between Strider parents from all over the world (Japan, UK, Canada, US)!

A lot of the forum threads have been sparking great conversations ranging from: tips/tricks on getting your child to ride, how old was your Strider rider when they got too fast for you to keep up, and how do you stay cool on a hot summer day.

Have you registered yet? We’d love it if you would join the conversation!

So Much More

joelhagan — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:25:11 +0000

This weekend, as I watched 15 Strider riders racing around a grassy track a man caught my eye and said, “Those are pretty neat little toys.” My first reaction was, “Yeah they are!”

While watching the kids (1.5 to 5 years old) rip around the track, balance on boards, and Stride over teeter-totters I thought to myself, “These are so much more than toys.”

I was still thinking about it while getting into Strider Sports World Headquarters on Monday and plugged into “Social Media land” to find this great video of Strider racers in Maine from our new friends over at Thorfinn Expeditions.

As most of you know from watching the Strider riders in your life, the sense of accomplishment, fun, balance and the beginning of a love for all things two wheeled make Striders so much more than a toy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Monster Jam Strider On The Jumbotron!

joelhagan — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:31:23 +0000

Ryan McFarland (Strider Founder and Chief Enthusiast) and Team Strider were in attendance at the Monster Jam® Party in the Pits in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium on July 9, 2011 for the debut of the new Monster Jam Striders!

The bike is mechanically the same as a standard Strider, but painted a bright, crisp silver. The seven different Officially Licensed Monster Jam frame sticker options in every box feature some of the most popular Monster Jam monster trucks including: Grave Digger, Maximum Destruction, Mohawk Warrior, Monster Mutt, U.S. Air Force Afterburner and Advance Auto Parts Grinder. As a Monster Jam fan, you can easily customize your Strider just the way you like it!

Which Monster Jam truck is your Strider rider's favorite?

With a roaring crowd of 30,000 the Monster Jam Strider video below was played on the Jumbotron! There will be more photos and videos to come with Strider riders with the different trucks…talk about perspective. Stride On!

Click here to view the embedded video.

StriderDay: US Moto GP!

joelhagan — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:50:39 +0000

If you haven’t already heard we’re adding a Strider Cup race at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca the 24th of July! Sundays at the Mazda Raceway are the most heavily attended race days. Last year over 60,000 people were there to cheer on their favorite Moto GP racers! This could be the chance of a lifetime for your little Strider rider!

With that in mind we’ve found a highlight from 2010 practice rides! Which reminds us…The Strider adventure zone will be set up at the Raceway on Friday and Saturday if your toddler wants to get in some practice laps!

Enjoy the video, then head over to register to get your Strider rider in on some of the racing action at Laguna Seca…maybe they’ll be the next great Moto GP champion!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Growing Up.

joelhagan — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:15:48 +0000

My daughter (Talia) is two. She is a precocious little thing and is already very opinionated. I have to raise the seat on her Strider at least once a week. Last night she realized that she could outStride her Mother and I while cruising on her Strider! Is any of this sounding familiar?

A couple things occurred to me as we were chasing her down the sidewalk, my wife with the dog and me pushing the stroller with our son: 1. I hope anybody backing out sees her (or us) coming. 2. Wow…she is really moving! 3. We’re going to have to start riding our bikes just to keep up.

Upon further reflection I am reminded of how important it is to begin teaching basic bicycle safety to children. When they are old enough to ride on their own the lessons that were taught to them while riding their Striders will be invaluable.

With that in mind, here is a list of 5 important Strider safety habits that should be started now!

1. ALWAYS wear a properly fitted helmet.

2. Look in ALL directions before crossing a road. (Turn this into a fun rule making sure they look up and down before checking the street)

3. Be Seen. Wear bright clothing, especially when riding earlier or later in the day when the light is not as good.

4. Listen to your Parents! (this might be the toughest one!)

5. Ride under CONTROL. It’s always fun to go fast, but when you aren’t in control it is unsafe and usually scary for everyone involved.

Head over to Strider Life and add your voice to the Strider safety discussion. What basic rules do you enforce?

George: Week 5

joelhagan — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:41:52 +0000

Progress on a Strider is different with every individual; Some kids jump right on and never look back, Others are very slow at getting the feel for it, while others may get right on and take off only to leave it alone for what seems like forever.

We get countless emails, facebook updates, Tweets, phone calls and Strider Life threads regarding Strider successes. This YouTube video is a great example of the middle ground between a beginning rider and a more experienced rider.

George Strides around an old mini-golf course, Striding though narrow gaps, up and down small curbs and does it all with an adorable Scottish accent.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Happy Canada Day, Eh!

joelhagan — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:50:24 +0000

Our friends in the Great White North are celebrating Canada Day which commemorates: 1. The formation of Canada by the joining of three provinces in 1867 and 2. Canada’s full independence from the United Kingdom in 1982! It looks like the snow has melted and Strider riding without mukluks and toques can commence.

From the country that brought us Rick Moranis, Gordon Lightfoot, Geddy Lee, and the pager (aka beeper) comes some great footage of 2 Strider riding brothers (4 1/2 and 2 years old, although I’m not sure how old that makes them with the exchange rate). Have Fun, eh!

Click here to view the embedded video.